Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky are three teams that are stable enough to be near-locks for March. After that, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and South Carolina can all see a path to the NCAA Tournament. There's still eight weeks left of conference play to settle it all, but March always looms.

Business as usual for the Vols, who scored 106 points vs. Arkansas and have scored 90 or more points in six games. Somehow, the Vols' two most difficult contests until mid-February are against South Carolina. It would take an upset for UT to not go into Rupp Arena on Feb. 16 undefeated in conference play. Admiral Schofield is shooting 46 percent from 3 on five attempts per game.

2. Auburn (13-3, 2-1)

The Tigers may well be better than Kentucky at this point in the season. But Auburn will certainly try to play the role of the underdog, as all teams do when they play the Wildcats. Bruce Pearl's bunch has shot 76 more 3s than any other SEC team, and Kentucky has struggled defending behind the arc (36 percent shooting by opponents).

4. LSU (13-3, 3-0)

Bravo, Will Wade. The Tigers have won two straight on the road and are sitting pretty with a simple week coming up (South Carolina and Georgia at home). Is it too early to mention that LSU plays Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State once each?

5. Ole Miss (13-3, 3-1)

The Rebels struggled offensively in the 83-69 loss to LSU. The Tigers hit 9-of-19 from 3 while Ole Miss shot 28 percent. Terence Davis scored 21 points on 20 shots, and the Rebels shot 9-of-17 from the free throw line. But Ole Miss is still sitting pretty in the SEC.

6. South Carolina (9-7, 4-0)

This crew is the surprise of the SEC. How have the Gamecocks turn this thing around? Remember, the only Division I team South Carolina beat after Thanksgiving in non-conference play was Coastal Carolina. Point guard Hassani Gravett is averaging 17 points per game in four SEC games, including scoring all 17 points in the second half of a come-from-behind win over Vanderbilt Wednesday.

7. Mississippi State (13-3, 1-2)

Are the Bulldogs good? We will find out next week, with games at Kentucky and vs. Auburn. Quinndary Weatherspoon is definitely good, though. If Tennessee's duo didn't exist, he may be the best player in the conference.

8. Alabama (11-5, 2-2)

Avery Johnson's coaching chops will be proven over the next few weeks. The next five games will pit the Tide against quality competition (at Tennessee, Ole Miss, at Baylor, Mississippi State, at Auburn). If Alabama goes 3-2 or better, it will be planted squarely on the bubble headed into February.

9. Florida (9-7, 1-3)

What happened to Jalen Hudson? After scoring 15 points per game on 40 percent shooting from 3 last season, he is shooting a paltry 22 percent from long range and is averaging six points per game in 2018-19. Hudson's struggles contributed to an 11-point loss vs. Tennessee (where he scored two points) and a three-point loss at Mississippi State (where he scored three).

10. Arkansas (10-6, 1-3)

The Hogs have played a slew of close games against quality competition. Arkansas has the interior scoring in Daniel Gafford, plus two excellent shooters in Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe. Those three guys need some help, especially if the Razorbacks continue to play below-average defense.

11. Georgia (9-7, 1-3)

The Bulldogs struggled to score Tuesday against Kentucky and Ashton Hagans, who was a Mark Fox-era commitment for the Bulldogs. Hagans would have made a difference in Athens, but this team would still be rebuilding under first-year coach Tom Crean.

12. Texas A&M (7-8, 1-3)

Aggie eyes may need to look forward to next season. Depending on how this season ends, A&M could return three guards that have scored more than 10 points per game in 2018-19. That's a promising thought to have. Until then...

13. Missouri (9-6, 0-3)

2019 is a what-could-have-been year for the Tigers. The absence of Jontay Porter is glaring since the Tigers rank 301st in the country in scoring.

14. Vanderbilt (9-7, 0-4)

The Commodores definitely had NCAA aspirations before the season began. Now, Vandy has to wonder if it can keep the season above .500. Darius Garland's injury looms large, and the drop-from-ahead loss to South Carolina Wednesday seemed like a fate sealer.